vocab from chess story Flashcards
assiduous
(adj.) showing great care and perseverance ; diligent
- “an assiduous reader of newspapers.”
luminaries
(n.) a person who inspires others, esp. one prominent in a particular sphere.
- “one of the luminaries of the chess world.”
willful
(adj.) - (of a bad act) intentional ; deliberate
- acting stubborn and spoiled regardless of consequences.
- “he was a spoiled, willful child.”
somnolent
(adj.) sleepy ; drowsy
- “a somnolent summer day.”
stolidly
(adv.) calmly and showing little emotion ; impassively
- “he played persistently and stolidly.”
unassailable
(adj.) unable to be questioned/attacked/defeated ; impregnable
- “he played with unassailable certainty.”
chanteuses
(n.) female singers of popular singers
subsidy
(n.) a sum of money granted by the state or a public body to help an industry or business keep the price of a commodity or service low.
- “a farm’s subsidy.”
blinkered
(adj.) having or showing a narrow or limited outlook.
- “a blinkered brain.”
inexorable
(adj.) - impossible to stop or prevent ; unstoppable
- (of a person) unrelenting
- “the doctors were inexorable.”
propulsive
(adj.) having the quality of driving or pushing forwards.
- “the propulsive rhythm of a fast train”
drudgery
(n.) hard menial or dull work.
- “domestic drudgery”
yoking
(v.) cause (two people or things) to be joined in a close relationship
- “a unique yoking of opposites.”
eschews
(v.) deliberately avoid using ; abstain from.
- “chess eschews the tyranny of chance.”
subterfuge
(n.) deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal.
- “he had to use subterfuge and bluff on many occasions”
ponderously
(adv.) - in a way that is slow and awkward because of being very heavy or large.
- in a way that is boring because of being too slow, long, or serious.
- “he sat down slowly and ponderously.”
disconcerted
(adj.) unsettled or confused.
-“he looked momentarily disconcerted”
impertinence
(n.) behaviour that is rude and does not show respect, especially someone older or in a higher position than you.
- “he realised his impertinence.”
meddling
(v.) the act of trying to change or have an influence on things that are not your responsibility, especially by criticizing in a damaging or annoying way ; interfering
- “stop meddling with the game.”
presumptuous
(adj.) (of a person or their behaviour) failing to observe the limits of what is permitted or appropriate ; arrogant
- “i hope i won’t be considered presumptuous if i offer some advice”
unflappable
(adj.) having or showing calmness in a crisis.
- “the world champion remained unflappable.”
diffidence
(n.) modesty or shyness resulting from a lack of self-confidence.
- “i say this with some diffidence”
bellicosity
(n.) the behaviour or manner of someone who wants to fight or start a war.
- “he was seized by an ambitious bellicosity.”
avowal
(n.) a statement in which you say or admit something that you believe, support, or intend to do.
- “imprisoned for their avowal of anti-government beliefs.”
pensive
(adj.) engaged in, involving, or reflecting deep or serious thought ; thoughtful ; reflective
- “a pensive mood”
impounded
(v.) taking away a person’s assets by the police because of breaking laws
- “save the assets from being impounded.”
inconspicuous
(adj.) not clearly visible or attracting attention ; unnoticeable
- “an inconspicuous red-brick building”
incarcerated
(v.) imprison or confine.
- “many are incarcerated for property offences”
absolve
(v.) declare (someone) free from guilt, obligation, or punishment.
- “the pardon absolved them of any crimes”
insidious
(adj.) proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects
- “the insidious torture of solitude.”
burin
(n.) an engraver’s steel cutting tool having the blade ground obliquely to a sharp point
- “etched as though by a burin into the innermost recesses of my brain.”
ardent
(adj.) passionate OR devoted
- “ardent expectations.”
bungling
(n.) the action or fact of carrying out a task clumsily or incompetently. [adj. form is also bungling]
- “he was exasperated at his own bungling.”
pensum
(n.) a task assigned in school often as a punishment.
- “a set pensum was created for him.”
torpor
(n.) a state of physical or mental inactivity; lethargy.
- “the torpor of lying on the bed doing nothing.”
annals
(n.) a record of the events of an year OR the records of one item in a chronicle
- “the annals of chess”
dilettante
(n.) a person who cultivates an area of interest, such as the arts, without real commitment or knowledge.
- “a wealthy literary dilettante”
capitulated
(v.) cease to resist an opponent or an unwelcome demand ; surrendered.
- “the patriots had to capitulate to the enemy forces”
compunction
(n.) a feeling of guilt or moral scruple that prevents or follows the doing of something bad
- “he had no compunction about working with a jew.”
librettist
(n.) a person who writes the words that are used in an opera or musical play
aphorism
(n.) an old saying ; adage
- “the old aphorism ‘the child is father to the man’.”
